PFIPC Probe: Detained Suspect Demands Public Hearing as House Committee Finalizes Location

The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) is finalizing logistics for the interrogation of the council’s self-appointed Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, who remains in police custody.

The committee, chaired by Representative Yusuf Gagdi, is probing how the alleged unapproved entity secured office space within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja and received a ₦1.32 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act. Adeyemi, through his legal team and family, declined to answer questions during an initial closed-door visit by lawmakers in custody, demanding that any questioning take place publicly in the presence of his lawyers and members of the press, consistent with previous open legislative hearings involving government officials.

Committee Chairman Gagdi previously stated that holding the session at a secured, undisclosed location was necessary to avoid interfering with ongoing law enforcement investigations and a court detention order. However, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has called for a fully transparent public inquiry, questioning how a non-existent agency could secure official recognition, access government infrastructure, and obtain budgetary allocations without assistance from internal government officials.

Key officials including the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Director-General of the Budget Office, and representatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria have already testified before the panel as investigators continue to examine potential administrative oversights and alleged document forgeries.